Watching out for the ego

Watching out for the ego

One of the great challenges for people engaged in social work is the slow and insidious growth of our own ego. Most of us start out with high ideals and with the intent of finding ourselves in the work that we undertake. Little do we realize that we can actually lose ourselves in this attempt. Vivekananda had thought this through and had a piece of advice for such people. He had remarked, “Do not stand on a pedestal and say, ‘here my poor man, take my 5 cents’. Feel privileged that the poor man is there to give you an opportunity to serve him.”

As our engagement with society and its acceptance of our work grows, our attention gradually shifts away from the ‘work that is getting done’ to ‘we doing the work’. There have been times when newspapers write about our work or awards and recognitions come our way, we actually begin to think that we must be doing a lot of constructive work. From personal experience, I know the ease with which one can forget the real reason for embarking on such activities. Founding the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement and undertaking the various service activities was the beginning of my own inner journey. For many years, I saw it as a platform for the outer expression of my own inner spiritual growth. As the activities grew, there was more visibility for the organization and those of us involved. Gradually, societal appreciation of the fact that there were hundreds of tribal and rural children studying in our schools and thousands of patients benefiting from our hospitals clouded this inner evolution. One started to believe the newspaper articles and television shows. To make matters worse, Veerappa Moily, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka wrote a book about a Jenukuruba boy and SVYM’s activities and made me the mentor of this central character. All this went into my head and I quietly forgot Vivekananda and his philosophy of detached and dispassionate service. It was then that another statement of Swamiji came to my mind. He says, “Remember the cow that gives birth to a calf also knows how to feed it. God knows how to take care of his creation. Feel not that you are responsible for all that is happening. On the other hand, feel happy that you are allowed to be his instrument.”

He continues, “All the hospitals you build, all the schools you construct can all get washed away in one flood or crumble to dust in one earthquake. So, do not think too much of yourself. What matters is not what you do, but how you do it. Service without motive is one of the highest forms of spiritual activity and always remember to work with the selflessness and dispassion that such a work demands.” To me, at a critical stage of my own growth, these statements seemed as though they were specifically written for me. These are indeed powerful messages for people in the social sector and we need to remember that our service will be enabling both for us and the people whom we work with, only when it is done in this spirit.

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Dr. Ramaswami Balasubramaniam (Balu) is a development scholar, author, public policy advocate, leadership trainer and activist, known for his pioneering development work with rural and tribal people in Saragur of Heggadadevana kote taluk, near Mysore in Karnataka, India.He founded Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), a development organization based in Saragur when he was 19. After spending 26 years in development work among rural and tribal people, he pursued academic degrees in leadership, organisational development and public policy. He was the Frank H T Rhodes Professor at Cornell University between 2012 to 2014, and continues to hold academic positions in other universities. His book I, the citizen is a compilation of narratives and reflections of a development activist and was released in 2015 by the Prime Minister's office. He is also the Chairman of Grassroots Research And Advocacy Movement (GRAAM)at Vivekananda Institute for Leadership Development, Mysore.